Sunday, March 28, 2010

Putting Birds Before Yourself

Ndeke with his wife Inyoni... both are now in a better place

I swore a number of years ago that I would ever rehome one of my "permanent" animals... That is to say the ones who I had decided had found their forever home with me, instead of extended fosters...Recently I broke that oath.

My lovebird Ndeke was originally a foster, who then moved in with my female lovie Inyoni and became permanent. When Inyoni died last year, he was living the high life!He was now able to have warm mushy foods, berries, veggies, a hidey hole, all the things that he had not been able to have when Inyoni was around because it would encourage breeding.He was quite the happy bachelor.Then about 3-4 months ago things started to change. He was quieter, less active and then started plucking his tail feathers out.I worked to improve his habitat with fresh bamboo browse, foraging and toys, but it didn't help.I finally admitted that my house was no longer the best situation for him. That no matter what I did, I was simply not set up to provide him everything he needed for him mental health. No matter how good his cage and diet was, he needed more.

Thankfully my friend Emily came through once again. The sister of her riding instructor had been thinking about adding a bird to her family and we got in contact.Ndeke went to his new home last week. There he will have attention, lots of activity, lots of love and be able to bring joy to her and her family.I got an email from her a few days later to let me know that he was settling in well and had brought a wonderful "vibe" to their house. I am so happy that he will have a chance to thrive again. We have an agreement that should things change and it is no longer best for him to be there that he will come back to me. I also told them that if money is ever an issue, I will happily pay his food and vet bills... to me that is a small price for his happiness.

What have I learned from this?That it is not a bad thing to admit when your situation is not the best situation for an animal. No matter how dedicated you are to their well being, sometimes it is best to put their welfare before your own heart and pride.

1 comment:

Thank you so much for this Blog. I have thoroughly enjoyed my evening reading, enjoying your birds and learning how to enrich my birds lives even more. I also have many 'rescue' animals so your blog will be revisited many time from now on.